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Show Old Advice Still Good "The best forage plants are alfalfs. and the vetches. Alfalfa may be placed in the front rank of such plants; for when once sown it lasts for ten -years, fattens lean cattle and is good 'cr sick cattle." Thus, in substance, did the leading agriculturist of his day advise his fellow fel-low farmers. The quotation is from the writings of Lucius Columella, author auth-or of the most complete classical treatise on agriculture, who lived in the first century of our era, about 1,900 years ago. Similar advice is contained in a re-en-. bulletin of the Department of j Agriculture. It is declared that "an j abundance of home grown legume hay ' is the basis for an economical ration ! for dairy cows." Such hay is not only ' more palatable, but furnishes more I milk-making nutriment at less cost than other feeds. Although the superiority of legumei has been taught by experts from Columella's Col-umella's time to the present, only about forty per cent of the hay grown in the United States is legume hay, and in the dairying states, where it would be ' mo-.t advantagous, the percentage is I even less. Both for nutriment and soil building, legume hay should have a prominent 'place in every farmer's program. Columella's Col-umella's advice is as good as it was the i9 centuries ago. |